Moving an image displayed on a touchscreen of a device having a motion sensor

ABSTRACT

A method and associated device for moving an image of displayable content displayed on a touchscreen of the device. Movement of an object along the touchscreen of the device toward an outer edge of the touchscreen is detected, and in response, the displayed image is moved toward the outer edge in synchronization with the detected movement of the object. It is determined that the object has traversed the outer edge of the touchscreen so as to no longer be touching the touchscreen, and in response, one or more motion sensors are activated to monitor the object for continuing movement of the object. The one or more motion sensors ascertain the continuing movement of the object away from the outer edge, and in response, the displayed image is moved toward the outer edge in synchronization with the ascertained continuing movement of the object.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a method of operating a device comprising atouchscreen and a motion sensor and to the device itself.

BACKGROUND

Touchscreen devices are very common. Modern smartphones and tabletcomputers are almost always provided with a touchscreen, which allows auser in interact with the device by touching the screen with the user'sfinger or a suitable stylus. A user can interact with a touchscreenusing scrolling and panning with a small touchscreen device such as amobile phone, PDA, or tablet etc. For example, the user can move theuser's finger on the touchscreen, dragging the image displayed on thetouchscreen accordingly. On these devices, the size of the screen is alimitation of the interaction range, and compels the user to repeat somegestures such as the scroll/pan gesture on the sensitive area (thetouchscreen) until the interaction is over. The cycle of touch, drag,release and move back can be repeated several times. Each cycleinterrupts the interaction, slowing it down and disrupting the usergesture. Additionally, the user's finger or stylus hides a portion ofthe touchscreen during the interaction.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of operating a device comprising a touchscreen, a motion sensorand a processor connected to the touchscreen and the motion sensor, themethod comprising the steps of displaying an image on the touchscreen,detecting a touch of an object on the touchscreen, detecting movement ofthe touch on the touchscreen, moving the displayed image incorrespondence to the detected movement, detecting continuing movementwith the motion sensor of the object to the side of and in the sameplane of the touchscreen, and moving the displayed image incorrespondence to the detected continuing movement.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda device comprising a touchscreen, a motion sensor and a processorconnected to the touchscreen and the motion sensor, the processorarranged to display an image on the touchscreen, detect a touch of anobject on the touchscreen, detect movement of the touch on thetouchscreen, move the displayed image in correspondence to the detectedmovement, detect continuing movement with the motion sensor of theobject to the side of and in the same plane of the touchscreen, and movethe displayed image in correspondence to the detected continuingmovement.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer program product on a computer readable medium or storagedevice for operating a device comprising a touchscreen, a motion sensorand a processor connected to the touchscreen and the motion sensor, theprogram product comprising instructions for displaying an image on thetouchscreen, detecting a touch of an object on the touchscreen,detecting movement of the touch on the touchscreen, moving the displayedimage in correspondence to the detected movement, detecting continuingmovement with the motion sensor of the object to the side of and in thesame plane of the touchscreen, and moving the displayed image incorrespondence to the detected continuing movement.

Owing to the invention, it is possible to provide a device with acombination of a touchscreen and one or more motion sensors, which allowa seamless interaction that is initiated, for example, by a user'sfinger on the touchscreen and is continued outside the screen, whichwill scroll and/or pan the image displayed by the touchscreen device.The interaction is always initiated on the touchscreen and once the userreaches the edge of the touchscreen, instead of interrupting theinteraction, the user simply keeps moving the finger away from thetouchscreen, which will continue moving the displayed image. The motionsensors capture the user's movement and take over the interactionseamlessly. The motion sensors detect external movement usingappropriate optical detection technology such as a suitable camera. Theuser can keep scrolling/panning the displayed image by moving the user'sfinger anywhere in the screen plane and the touchscreen or the motionsensors manage the interaction according to where the finger is,respectively on or outside the screen. The interaction is stopped on thetouchscreen, by releasing the finger, and outside the touchscreen, bymoving up the finger vertically until it goes outside the motion captorscope (defined by a customizable threshold) or going out of the range ofthe motion captors. The image displayed could be from the following(non-exhaustive) list: a bitmap, a video, a map, a table, a spreadsheet,a list or a document, etc. In general being any kind of content thatdoes not fit entirely into the device touchscreen.

The methodology provides a number of advantages. Scroll and paninteractions are not ended when the user reaches the edge of thetouchscreen, which normally happens very quickly on a small device. Thedevice knows where the finger leaves the touchscreen, making it easierto catch and follow the finger presence outside the touchscreen. Arandom movement in the motion capture range cannot scroll the image byitself because it is not identified in the continuity of theinteraction. The user's finger or stylus does not hide the touchscreenwhile outside the touchscreen boundaries. No switching to a special modeis needed as the interaction is initiated on the touchscreen.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises detecting that theobject has moved a predefined distance away from the plane of thetouchscreen and halting movement of the displayed image. The device canbe configured so that it will detect when the user has stopped thecurrent motion, and this can be in reference to the user's finger orstylus moving away from the plane of the touchscreen. This provides aneffective way of detecting that the user's finger or stylus is no longerwithin the same panning or scrolling motion. If the user's device isflat on a horizontal table, for example, then the movement upwards aspecific distance will end the current motion.

Advantageously, the method further comprises generating a vector for thedetected touch of the object on the touchscreen and determining that thedetected continuing movement of the object to the side of and in thesame plane of the touchscreen is within a predetermined error of thegenerated vector. The device can define a vector that effectively modelsthe user's touch on the touchscreen. This vector can then be used tocheck if the movement outside of the touchscreen corresponds to theoriginal touch of the user on the touchscreen. This can be used toprevent inadvertent movement of the image if the user is not actuallycontinuing with the current movement.

The method further comprises detecting that the object is no longertouching the touchscreen and activating the motion sensor to detect thecontinuing movement of the object. The motion sensor(s) can beconfigured so that they are only in detection mode when the useractually makes a touch that reaches the edge of the touchscreen. This isthe indicative that the user is likely to carry on with the currentmotion outside the scope of the touchscreen and therefore the motionsensors need to be activated to detect the motion of the user's fingeror stylus. In one embodiment, the motion sensor comprises a set ofindividual motion sensors placed around the touchscreen. This providescoverage for detecting the user's motion which could take place at anyside of the touchscreen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 to 4 are schematic diagrams of a touchscreen device, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method of operating the touchscreen device,in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are further schematic diagrams of the touchscreen device,in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of touchscreen events, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of off-touchscreen events, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart depicting a method for moving an image displayedon a touchscreen of a device, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates a computer or computer system used for implementingthe methods of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a touchscreen device 10, which maybe a smartphone that combines mobile telephony with advanced data andnetwork functions such as Internet access and email, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention. Alternatively, the device 10 maybe a computer (e.g., a person computer). The front face of thetouchscreen device 10 is taken up almost entirely by a touchscreen 12having outer edges 31-34. The touchscreen 12 combines display and userinterface functionality. The device 10 comprises a peripheral region 11surrounding the touchscreen 12. The peripheral region 11 is in directphysical contact with outer edges 31-34 of the touchscreen 12. Theperipheral region 11 comprises subregions 41-44 which are in directphysical contact with respective outer edges 31-34. The device 10 isprovided with high-resolution display functionality by the touchscreen12, and the user can touch anywhere on the touchscreen 12 with theuser's finger 14, in order to interact with elements of the image beingshown by the touchscreen 12. Some touchscreens 12 also support the useof a stylus to interact with the touchscreen. The orthogonal coordinatesX and Y denote horizontal and vertical directions, respectively.

The device 10 also provides computing functionality since the processorand memory capabilities of the device 10 support the running of complexcomputing applications such as a word processor and a spreadsheet. Theuser can touch an icon 16, in order to launch an application such as aword processing application. The user touches the touchscreen 12 in theregion that shows the icon 16 and this will cause the processor of thedevice 10 to launch the corresponding application, and the touchscreen12 will be controlled accordingly. The user can then interact with theapplication in much the same way as the user would in more conventionalcomputing environment such as using a desktop computer.

In one embodiment, the device 10 is a mobile device. An issue with thedevice 10 may be that since the device may be designed for mobiletelephony there tend to be size and weight limits for the device 10, inorder that the device 10 can be considered truly portable and alsosuitable for use as a telephone. This means that the size of thetouchscreen 12 may be limited by the overall size of the device 10.Although the touchscreen 12 uses almost all of the usable space on thefront of the device 10, only a limited amount of information can bedisplayed on the touchscreen 12, certainly when compared to the amountthat can be displayed on a computer monitor or laptop screen.

In one embodiment, the device 10 is a computer (e.g., a personalcomputer).

FIG. 2 shows the device 10 with an image 18 displayed on the touchscreen12, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Here theimage 18 is part of a document that has been opened by the user within aword processing application. Generally, the image 18 comprises anydisplayable content on the touchscreen 12. The relatively small size ofthe display area of the touchscreen 12 relative to the size of thedocument itself means that only a small portion of the document isvisible to the user at any one time. If the user wishes to view part ofthe document that is not currently shown on the touchscreen 12, then theuser will need to scroll the document up or down, in order to move thedocument view so that the part that the user wishes to look at isvisible on the touchscreen 12.

On touchscreen devices such as the smartphone 10, this is accomplishedby the user touching the touchscreen 12 and dragging the user's finger14 in the direction that the user wishes to move the document, as shownin FIG. 3, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. In aword processing application, the document is likely to be aligned withthe left and right sides of the touchscreen 12 and the scrolling will bein the vertical up and down directions, in terms of the alignment of thedevice 10 as shown in FIG. 3. Other images shown by the device 10 (suchas a photograph) may be arranged such that left and right scrolling isalso possible depending upon which part of the photograph is currentlybeing shown.

When the user performs a scrolling operation, then the user will rapidlyreach the limit of the touchscreen's sensitivity, once the user's finger14 reaches an outer edge of the touchscreen 12. For example, if it isassumed that the user wishes to scroll the image 18 downwards, then theuser will touch the touchscreen 12 (anywhere) with the user's finger 14and drag the user's finger 14 in a direction 17 downwards toward outeredge 34 until the user's finger 14 reaches the bottom of the touchscreen12 at outer edge 34. The image 12 being displayed on the touchscreen 12will move in a normal direction 19 perpendicular to the outer edge 34 incorrespondence to (i.e., in synchronization with) the user dragging ofthe user's finger 14 in the direction 17, at the same time as the useris moving the user's finger 14 in contact with the touchscreen 12. Thedirection 17 is about equal to the normal direction 19, which means thatthe direction 17 is within a specified deviation (e.g., 0.5, degree, 1degree, 2 degrees, etc.) from the normal direction 19.

FIG. 4 shows the user continuing to scroll the document image 18, bycontinuing to move the user's finger 14 in a downwards direction, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention, even though theuser's finger 14 is no longer in contact with the touchscreen 12. Theuser has made a continuous gesture with the user's finger 14, startingwith the original touch of the user's finger 14 on the touchscreen 12and continuing with the user dragging the user's finger 14 downwardswhile still in contact with the touchscreen 12 and now continuing withthe same downwards movement while no longer touching the touchscreen 12.The user is moving the user's finger 14 to the side of and in the sameplane as the touchscreen 12 after the user's finger has traversed theouter edge 34 in a direction about equal to the normal direction 19.

The device 10 is provided with one or more motion sensors 20 which areable to detect the continuing movement of the finger 14 even though thefinger 14 is no longer in direct contact with the touchscreen 12 orindeed with the device 10 at all. The motion sensors 20 are placedaround the touchscreen 12 in the peripheral region 11 and these motionsensors 20 are able to detect the movement of the user's finger 14 inthe space immediately adjacent to the touchscreen device 10. The motionsensors 20 provide a range that is significant to the user in the user'sinteraction with the device 10, up to 20 cm, for example. In theembodiment of FIG. 4, each region 41-44 comprises a motion sensor 20.

The motion sensors 20 are connected to the processor of the device 10,which is controlling the image 18 being displayed by the touchscreen 12.The motion sensors 20 will provide data to the processor on the sensedmovement of the user's finger 14 and the processor will use this data todetermine that the user is continuing to scroll the image 18 by theuser's continuing gesture. The processor will move the displayed imagein correspondence to the detected continuing movement of the user'sfinger 14. In this way, the user does not have to stop the scrollingwhen the user's finger 14 reaches the limit of the touchscreen 12 of thedevice 10.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart that summarizes the method of operating thetouchscreen device 10, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention. This method is executed by the processor of the touchscreendevice 10 under the operation of a computer program product from acomputer readable storage medium or storage device, which comprisesinstructions for controlling the processor. The method comprises thesteps of, firstly step 51, which comprises displaying the image 18 onthe touchscreen 12 of the device 10. The image 18 need not take up theentirety of the touchscreen 12, for example, as in most applications runby the touchscreen device 10 parts of the touchscreen 12 will be usedfor other elements relating to the current application, for example.

The next step in the method comprises step 52, which comprises detectinga touch by an object 14 on the touchscreen 12. The object 14 could be auser's finger or suitable stylus that can be used on the touchscreen 12,depending upon the technology used (some touchscreens are optimized forlarge objects such as fingers and some are optimized for small finepointed objects such as a stylus). The next step of the method is step53, which comprises detecting movement of the touch on the touchscreen12. This movement is assumed to be in generally a straight line, butactually any movement can be detected by the touchscreen 12.

The next step in the method comprises step 54, which comprises movingthe displayed image 18 in correspondence to the detected movement. Thedisplayed image 18 is moved as the user moves the user's finger 14 (orstylus as appropriate). The next step is step 55, which comprisesdetecting continuing movement with the motion sensor 20 of the object 14to the side of and in the same plane of the touchscreen 12, and thefinal step of the method is step 56, which comprises moving thedisplayed image 18 in correspondence to the detected continuingmovement. So as the user continues to move the user's finger 14 awayfrom the contact with the touchscreen 12, nevertheless, the image on thetouchscreen 12 is still moved. The method ends when there is no longerany detected movement of the user's finger 14 by the motion sensor 20.

Various feedback loops are shown in FIG. 5. Steps 53 and 54 will berepeated as the user moves the user's finger 14 over the touchscreen 12.If the user pauses the movement of the user's finger 14 at any time,then the movement of the image 18 will also be paused. These two steps(53 and 54) will repeat while the user is in contact with thetouchscreen 12. Similarly, steps 55 and 56 will be repeated as the usermoves the user's finger 14 off the touchscreen 12, with each movementthat the user makes with the user's finger 14 resulting in acorresponding movement of the image 18. There is also a feedback loopfrom step 56 to step 52, which indicates that should the user's finger14 move back from not being in contact with the touchscreen 12 to beingin contact with the touchscreen 12, then the conventional image movementwill recommence.

The processor of the touchscreen device 10, which is controlling theoperation of the touchscreen 12, must operate a protocol to decide whenthe user's gesture has actually finished, rather than waiting for theuser's finger 14 to move outside of the field of view of the motionsensor 20. The processor can be configured to detect that the user'sfinger 14 has moved a predefined distance away from the plane of thetouchscreen 12 and halt movement of the displayed image 18 accordingly.This means that if the user withdraws the user's finger 14 a predefineddistance, e.g., 2 cm, away from the plane of the touchscreen 12, thenthe scrolling of the image 18 will be halted.

The processor can also be configured to generate a vector 22 for thedetected direction of movement of the user's finger 14 on thetouchscreen 12, as shown in FIG. 6 in which the vector 22 is formed frommovement of the user's finger 14 from one location on the touchscreen 12to another (lower) location on the touchscreen 12, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention. The processor can then determinethat the detected continuing movement of the user's finger 14 to theside of and in the same plane as the touchscreen 12 is within apredetermined error (i.e., tolerance) of the generated vector 22 asmeasured in units of angular deviation. This methodology allows theprocessor to interpret whether the data received from the motion sensor20, with respect to the movement off the touchscreen 12 is actually acontinuation of the movement of the user's finger 14 in contact with thetouchscreen 12.

The motion sensor 20, whether embodied as a single motion sensor or as aset of motion sensors 20 placed around the touchscreen 12, do notnecessarily have to be in an operational mode all of the time. FIG. 6depicts a motion sensor 20 on each border of the four borders of thetouchscreen 12. The motion sensor 20 can effectively be turned off orplaced in a sleep mode and only turned on when actually needed. In thiscase, the processor detects that the user's finger 14 is no longertouching the touchscreen 12 and activates one or more motion sensors 20,at this point in time, to detect the continuing movement of the user'sfinger. This reduces the power consumption of the motion sensor 20 andensures that only relevant gestures pertaining to the user's finger 14are detected.

FIG. 7 shows a different view of the touchscreen device 10, where theuser is looking at a photograph on the touchscreen 12 of the mobiledevice 10, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Onlya small portion 18 of the overall photograph can be seen on thetouchscreen 12 and the user may wish to scroll or pan to different partsof the photograph. The user touches the touchscreen 12 with the user'sfinger 14 at any point on the touchscreen 12 and can then start movingthe image 18 around, for example by moving the user's finger 14 to theleft or right, as indicated in FIG. 7. The displayed image 18 is movedin correspondence to the detected movement.

If the user's finger 14 reaches the edge of the touchscreen 12, then theuser can continue moving the user's finger 14 in the same continuousgesture, even though the user's finger 14 is no longer in direct contactwith the touchscreen 12. One or more motion sensors 20 detect themovement of the user's finger 14 in the space adjacent to thetouchscreen device 10. The processor of the device 10, which isconnected to the motion sensors 20, will continue moving the displayedimage 18 in correspondence to the detected continuing movement. The userseamlessly continues the user's original gesture and the displayed image18 continues to scroll across the touchscreen 12.

The user's scroll and pan interactions do not stop when the user'sfinger 14 reaches the edge of the touchscreen 12, which normally happensquickly on the small device 10. The device 10 knows where the user'sfinger 14 leaves the touchscreen 12, making it easier for the processorof the device 10 to catch and follow the finger presence outside thetouchscreen 12. A random movement in the motion capture range will notscroll the displayed image 18 because the movement will not beidentified as a continuity of the user's interaction. The user's finger14 (or stylus) does not hide the touchscreen 12 while outside thetouchscreen boundaries. The user's finger 14 can return to thetouchscreen 12, and the user will see again the original portion of theimage 18 that was dragged at first when the interaction was initiated.

As mentioned above, the touchscreen device 10 is controlled to operatethe scrolling/panning of the displayed image 18, without any noticeablechange when the user transitions from the touch to the touchless contactwith the touchscreen 12. FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate flowcharts showing thehandling of the image scrolling/panning from the point of view of deviceevents, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 8illustrates the events when the user is in contact with the touchscreen12 and FIG. 9 illustrates the events when the user is no longer incontact with the touchscreen 12.

The touchscreen 12 generates three types of events: press, release anddrag (dx, dy) where dx is the X translation of the finger 14 since thelatest position, and dy is the Y translation of the finger 14 since thelatest position (see FIG. 1 for X and Y orthogonal directions). Notingthat Z denotes a direction perpendicular to the plane of the touchscreen12 and is thus orthogonal to both X and Y, the touchless motion sensor20 generates two kinds of event (in three-dimensional space): verticalmotion (dx, dy, dz), where dz is “bigger than dx and dy” (for example:dz^2>dx^2+dy^2) and horizontal motion (dx, dy, dz), otherwise when dz“is smaller than dx and dy”. It can be assumed that the motion eventsare filtered to keep only the event occurring near the latest position.As for the touchscreen 12, dx, dy, and dz are the delta coordinates fromthe last detected position of the finger 14. Also, the reported eventsare motion-oriented just to make things easier to understand, butactually it does not make any assumption on the type of touchlesssensors, which can be static sensors and report a motion representingthe delta between two static inputs, provided the two static inputs aredifferent.

In FIG. 8, step 61 detects initiation of a scroll/pan interaction on thetouchscreen 12 due to a pressing of the touchscreen 12 by the user'sfinger 14. Step 62 waits for a next event (E) in which the touchscreen12 is touched. Step 63 determines whether the next event (E) is arelease event (T1-YES to step 64) or is a move event (T1-NO to step 65).In step 65, the scroll/pan interaction continues and control passes backto step 62 to wait for the next event). When moving from touch totouchless, the device 10 interprets a release event (T1-YES to step 64)as either close to the edge as a transition to the touchless interaction(point B at step 71 in the FIG. 9 flowchart) or as an end of theinteraction in step 66. In step 71 the next touchless event will takeover the interaction if it is in continuity with the last position onthe touchscreen 12. For that there is a check in step 72 to see if it isa horizontal move (T2-NO to step 74) or is a vertical move (T2-YES toend the interaction in step 73). The touchless interaction proceedsthrough the loop T3-NO to pan in step 75 and then loops back to step 71to wait for the next touchless event, then T2-NO, until the control goesback to the touchscreen 12 (T3-YES to point A at step 62 in the FIG. 8flowchart) or the interaction is finished by a vertical move (T2-YES toend the interaction in step 73).

In FIG. 9, when moving from touchless to touch, the device 10 checks fora touchscreen press event (T3-YES) in the middle of the touchless loop,and then waits for the next touchscreen event (A) which is expected tobe a move event. On the hardware side, touch events are more reliablethan touchless events, the test T3 in step 74 is also a means to quicklybring the interaction back onto the touchscreen 12. According to thereliability of the touchless sensor 20, there may need to be a time-outsystem at the transition point B in order not to block the device. Forexample, once the time-out is reached, the interaction is completed. Thetouchscreen device 10 may be a smartphone, PDA, tablet, or any computeror computer system having a touchscreen 12 that may be touched by theuser's finger 14 to scroll text and/or images horizontally and/orvertically on the screen.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart depicting a method for moving an image displayedon a touchscreen of a device, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention. The flow chart of FIG. 10 comprises steps 81-86.

Step 81 detects a movement of an object along the touchscreen of thedevice in a first direction toward a first outer edge of the touchscreenwhile the object is touching the touchscreen, and in response, step 82moves the displayed image in a second direction toward the first outeredge in synchronization with the detected movement of the object,wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first outer edge,and wherein the first direction is about equal to the second direction.In one embodiment, the displayed image moves toward the first outer edgeat about the same speed as the speed at which the object moves towardthe first outer edge while the object is touching the touchscreen. Thephrase “at about the same speed as” means “within a predefined toleranceof”.

After the movement of the object is detected while the object istouching the touchscreen, step 83 determines that the object hastraversed the first outer edge of the touchscreen in a third directionso as to no longer be touching the touchscreen, and in response, step 84activates one or more motion sensors to monitor the object forcontinuing movement of the object, wherein the third direction is aboutequal to the second direction, and wherein the device comprises the oneor more motion sensors. In one embodiment, the displayed image movesaway from the first outer edge at about the same speed as the speed atwhich the object is traversing the first outer edge.

After the one or more motion sensors are activated, in step 85 the oneor more motion sensors ascertain the continuing movement of the objectin a fourth direction away from the first outer edge, and in response,step 86 moves the displayed image in the second direction toward thefirst outer edge in synchronization with the ascertained continuingmovement of the object, wherein the fourth direction is about equal tothe second direction.

FIG. 11 illustrates a computer or computer system 90 (e.g., in thedevice 10) used for implementing methods of the present invention. Thecomputer or computer system 90 comprises a processor 91, an input device92 coupled to the processor 91, an output device 93 coupled to theprocessor 91, and memory devices 94 and 95 each coupled to the processor91. The input device 92 may be, inter alia, a keyboard, a mouse, akeypad, a touch screen, a scanner, a voice recognition device, a sensor,a network interface card (NIC), a Voice/video over Internet Protocol(VOIP) adapter, a wireless adapter, a telephone adapter, a dedicatedcircuit adapter, etc. The output device 93 may be, inter alia, aprinter, a plotter, a computer screen, a magnetic tape, a removable harddisk, a floppy disk, a NIC, a VOIP adapter, a wireless adapter, atelephone adapter, a dedicated circuit adapter, an audio and/or visualsignal generator, a light emitting diode (LED), etc. The memory devices94 and 95 may be, inter alia, a hard disk, a floppy disk, a magnetictape, an optical storage such as a compact disc (CD) or a digital videodisc (DVD), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a read-only memory(ROM), etc. The memory device 95 includes computer program code 97 whichis a computer program that comprises computer-executable instructions.The program code 97 includes software or program instructions that mayimplement methods of the present invention. The processor 91 executesthe program code 97. The memory device 94 includes input data 96. Theinput data 96 includes input required by the program code 97. The outputdevice 93 displays output from the program code 97. Either or bothmemory devices 94 and 95 (or one or more additional memory devices notshown in FIG. 11) may be used as a computer readable storage medium ordevice (or program storage device) having a computer readable programembodied therein and/or having other data stored therein, wherein thecomputer readable program comprises the program code 97. Generally, acomputer program product (or, alternatively, an article of manufacture)of the computer system 90 may comprise said computer readable storagemedium (or said program storage device). A computer readable storagedevice of the present invention, when storing the program code 97 forexecution by one or more processors, is not a transmission medium suchas a copper transmission cable, an optical transmission fiber, or awireless transmission medium.

While FIG. 11 shows the computer system 90 as a particular configurationof hardware and software, any configuration of hardware and software, aswould be known to a person of ordinary skill in the art, may be utilizedfor the purposes stated supra in conjunction with the particularcomputer system 90 of FIG. 11. For example, the memory devices 94 and 95may be portions of a single memory device rather than separate memorydevices. As another example, the processor 91 may represent one or moreprocessors, and each memory device of memory devices 94 and 95 mayrepresent one or more memory devices and/or one or more computerreadable storage devices.

A device (e.g., mobile device, computer) or computer system of thepresent invention comprises a processor, a computer readable hardwarestorage medium, and a memory, wherein the storage medium comprisescomputer readable program code which, upon being executed by theprocessor via the memory, performs the methods of the present invention.

A computer program product of the present invention comprises aprocessor in a device and a computer readable (hardware) storage mediumin the device, wherein the storage medium comprises computer readableprogram code which, upon being executed by the processor, performs themethods of the present invention.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed herein for purposes of illustration, many modifications andchanges will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly,the appended claims are intended to encompass all such modifications andchanges as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for moving an image of displayablecontent displayed on a touchscreen of a device, said method comprising;detecting, by a processor in the device, a movement of an object alongthe touchscreen of the device in a first direction toward a first outeredge of the touchscreen while the object is touching the touchscreen,and in response, said processor moving the displayed image in a seconddirection toward the first outer edge in synchronization with thedetected movement of the object, wherein the second direction isperpendicular to the first outer edge, and wherein the first directionis equal to the second direction; after said detecting the movement ofthe object while the object is touching the touchscreen, said processordetermining that the object has traversed the first outer edge of thetouchscreen in a third direction in a transition from touching thetouchscreen to no longer touching the touchscreen; in response to saiddetermining that the object has traversed the first outer edge of thetouchscreen in the third direction in the transition from touching thetouchscreen to no longer touching the touchscreen, said processoractivating one or more motion sensors to monitor the object forcontinuing movement of the object, wherein the third direction is equalto the second direction, and wherein the device comprises the one ormore motion sensors; and after said activating the one or more motionsensors, said one or more motion sensors ascertaining the continuingmovement of the object in a fourth direction away from the first outeredge, and in response, said processor moving the displayed image in thesecond direction toward the first outer edge in synchronization with theascertained continuing movement of the object, wherein the fourthdirection is equal to the second direction.
 2. The method of claim 1,said method further comprising: said processor detecting that the objecthas moved a predefined distance away from a plane of the touchscreen,and in response, halting movement of the displayed image.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein the device comprises a peripheral region surroundingthe touchscreen, wherein the peripheral region is in direct physicalcontact with four outer edges of the touchscreen, wherein the four outeredges comprise the first outer edge, wherein peripheral region and thetouchscreen do not anywhere overlap each other in a directionperpendicular to the touchscreen, and wherein the one or more motionsensors are disposed in the peripheral region.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the peripheral region comprises four subregions, wherein eachsubregion is in direct physical contact with a respective outer edge ofthe four outer edges, wherein the one or more motion sensors comprisesfour motion sensors, and wherein each subregion comprises at least onemotion sensor of the four motion sensors.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the displayed image moves toward the first outer edge at aboutthe same speed as the speed at which the object moves toward the firstouter edge while the object is touching the touchscreen.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein the displayed image moves away from the first outeredge at about the same speed as the speed at which the object istraversing the first outer edge.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein thedevice is a mobile device.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the deviceis a computer.
 9. A device comprising a processor, a computer readablehardware storage medium, and a memory, wherein the storage mediumcomprises computer code which, upon being executed by the processor viathe memory, performs a method for moving an image of displayable contentdisplayed on a touchscreen of the device, said method comprising: saidprocessor detecting a movement of an object along the touchscreen of thedevice in a first direction toward a first outer edge of the touchscreenwhile the object is touching the touchscreen, and in response, saidprocessor moving the displayed image in a second direction toward thefirst outer edge in synchronization with the detected movement of theobject, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first outeredge, and wherein the first direction is equal to the second direction;after said detecting the movement of the object while the object istouching the touchscreen, said processor determining that the object hastraversed the first outer edge of the touchscreen in a third directionin a transition from touching the touchscreen to no longer touching thetouchscreen; in response to said determining that the object hastraversed the first outer edge of the touchscreen in the third directionin the transition from touching the touchscreen to no longer touchingthe touchscreen, said processor activating one or more motion sensors tomonitor the object for continuing movement of the object, wherein thethird direction is equal to the second direction, and wherein the devicecomprises the one or more motion sensors; and after said activating theone or more motion sensors, said one or more motion sensors ascertainingthe continuing movement of the object in a fourth direction away fromthe first outer edge, and in response, said processor moving thedisplayed image in the second direction toward the first outer edge insynchronization with the ascertained continuing movement of the object,wherein the fourth direction is equal to the second direction.
 10. Thedevice of claim 9, said method further comprising: said processordetecting that the object has moved a predefined distance away from aplane of the touchscreen, and in response, halting movement of thedisplayed image.
 11. The device of claim 9, wherein the device comprisesa peripheral region surrounding the touchscreen, wherein the peripheralregion is in direct physical contact with four outer edges of thetouchscreen, wherein the four outer edges comprise the first outer edge,and wherein the one or more motion sensors are disposed in theperipheral region.
 12. The device of claim 11, wherein the peripheralregion comprises four subregions, wherein each subregion is in directphysical contact with a respective outer edge of the four outer edges,wherein the one or more motion sensors comprises four motion sensors,wherein peripheral region and the touchscreen do not anywhere overlapeach other in a direction perpendicular to the touchscreen, and whereineach subregion comprises at least one motion sensor of the four motionsensors.
 13. The device of claim 9, wherein the displayed image movestoward the first outer edge at about the same speed as the speed atwhich the object moves toward the first outer edge while the object istouching the touchscreen.
 14. The device of claim 9, wherein thedisplayed image moves away from the first outer edge at about the samespeed as the speed at which the object is traversing the first outeredge.
 15. A computer program product, comprising a processor in a deviceand a computer readable hardware storage medium in the device, whereinthe storage medium comprises computer readable program code which, uponbeing executed by the processor, performs a method for moving an imageof displayable content displayed on a touchscreen of the device, saidmethod comprising: said processor detecting a movement of an objectalong the touchscreen of the device in a first direction toward a firstouter edge of the touchscreen while the object is touching thetouchscreen, and in response, said processor moving the displayed imagein a second direction toward the first outer edge in synchronizationwith the detected movement of the object, wherein the second directionis perpendicular to the first outer edge, and wherein the firstdirection is equal to the second direction; after said detecting themovement of the object while the object is touching the touchscreen,said processor determining that the object has traversed the first outeredge of the touchscreen in a third direction in a transition fromtouching the touchscreen to no longer touching the touchscreen; inresponse to said determining that the object has traversed the firstouter edge of the touchscreen in the third direction in the transitionfrom touching the touchscreen to no longer touching the touchscreen,said processor activating one or more motion sensors to monitor theobject for continuing movement of the object, wherein the thirddirection is equal to the second direction, and wherein the devicecomprises the one or more motion sensors; and after said activating theone or more motion sensors, said one or more motion sensors ascertainingthe continuing movement of the object in a fourth direction away fromthe first outer edge, and in response, said processor moving thedisplayed image in the second direction toward the first outer edge insynchronization with the ascertained continuing movement of the object,wherein the fourth direction is equal to the second direction.
 16. Thecomputer program product of claim 15, said method further comprising:said processor detecting that the object has moved a predefined distanceaway from a plane of the touchscreen, and in response, halting movementof the displayed image.
 17. The computer program product of claim 15,wherein the device comprises a peripheral region surrounding thetouchscreen, wherein the peripheral region is in direct physical contactwith four outer edges of the touchscreen, wherein peripheral region andthe touchscreen do not anywhere overlap each other in a directionperpendicular to the touchscreen, wherein the four outer edges comprisethe first outer edge, and wherein the one or more motion sensors aredisposed in the peripheral region.
 18. The computer program product ofclaim 17, wherein the peripheral region comprises four subregions,wherein each subregion is in direct physical contact with a respectiveouter edge of the four outer edges, wherein the one or more motionsensors comprises four motion sensors, and wherein each subregioncomprises at least one motion sensor of the four motion sensors.
 19. Thecomputer program product of claim 15, wherein the displayed image movestoward the first outer edge at about the same speed as the speed atwhich the object moves toward the first outer edge while the object istouching the touchscreen.
 20. The computer program product of claim 15,wherein the displayed image moves away from the first outer edge atabout the same speed as the speed at which the object is traversing thefirst outer edge.